One-Step Photochemical Preparation of CdS/Poly(MMA-co-MAA) Composite with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

This paper presents a one-step photochemical method for the preparation of CdS/Poly(MMA-co-MAA) composite photocatalyst, based on the concept of simultaneous photocatalytic polymerization of organic monomers during UV-light induced formation of CdS. The preparation is carried out in an aqueous solution of Na2S2O3, CdSO4, methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methacrylic acid (MAA), under a UV lamp. The continuously formed CdS particles with photocatalytic activity act the role of initiator to directly initiate the copolymerization of MMA and MAA, resulting in the in situ formation of the composite and full contact of the CdS particles with the oxygen-containing groups in the polymer. Taking the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue as a case study, the composite exhibited significantly higher activity under simulated solar light compared to the pure CdS. By analysis on various data, the enhanced photocatalytic activity is attributed to the enhanced visible light absorption, and especially the high electron-hole separation efficiency caused by the electrostatic interaction between photogenerated holes and carbonyl oxygen atoms with negatively charged features. Furthermore, the composite displays excellent sunlight activity and recyclability, suggesting its potential for practical applications. Such a one-step construction strategy relying only on photo-energy is green, low-cost and promising in obtaining high-performance semiconductor/polymer composite photocatalysts.

Hydrated electrons mediated in-situ construction of cubic phase CdS/Cd thin layer on a millimeter-scale support for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

In this study, non-noble metal Cd decorated cubic phase CdS (CdS/Cd) thin layer on a millimeter-scale chitosan-Mg(OH)₂ xerogel beads (CMB) were elaborately designed and successfully synthesized via facile hydrated electrons (e_aq^•-) assistant strategy. The in-situ formation of metallic Cd was driven by e_aq^•- generated from UV/Na₂SO₃ process. Owing to metallic Cd, CMB@CdS/Cd exhibited better visible-light absorption ability and more efficient separation capability for photo-induced carriers, its hydrogen production efficiency was about threefold improved compared to CMB@CdS. Both characterization methods and density functional theory calculations determined a built-in electric field from metallic Cd to CdS and Ohmic-contact between Cd and CdS, which largely promoted the carriers transfer efficiency. Moreover, the introduction of metallic Cd on the CdS could reduce the ΔG_H*, thus greatly boosting the photocatalytic hydrogen production efficiency. This work provides a simple and green approach to construct metallic Cd coupled semiconductor to achieve efficient photocatalytic applications.

State-of-the-art advances of copper-based nanostructures in the enhancement of chemodynamic therapy

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) is a new emerging strategy for the in situ treatment of tumors. In the microenvironment of tumor cells, CDT may be achieved through the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), e.g., hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) and singlet oxygen (¹O₂), which induce the death of tumor cells. Copper (Cu) or other transition-metal ions catalyze the production of ˙OH by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) through Fenton or Fenton-like reactions. With the development of advanced nanotechnology, nanotherapeutic systems with Cu-based nanostructures have received extensive attention and have been demonstrated for their wide applications in the design and construction of nanotherapeutic systems for CDT, along with multimodal synergistic therapy. Herein, the cutting-edge developments of Cu-based nanostructures in CDT are reviewed and discussed, by focusing on the monotherapy of CDT as well as synergistic treatments by hyphenating CDT with various therapeutic protocols, e.g., photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), sonodynamic therapy (SDT), and so on. In addition, the potential challenges and future perspectives are described in the improvement of CDT therapeutic efficacy, the enhancement of targeting capability, and mechanistic investigations on CDT therapy.

Metal/Semiconductor Nanocomposites for Photocatalysis: Fundamentals, Structures, Applications and Properties

Due to the capability of utilizing light energy to drive chemical reactions, photocatalysis has been widely accepted as a green technology to help us address the increasingly severe environment and energy issues facing human society. To date, a large amount of research has been devoted to enhancing the properties of photocatalysts. As reported, coupling semiconductors with metals is one of the most effective methods to achieve high-performance photocatalysts. The excellent properties of metal/semiconductor (M/S) nanocomposite photocatalysts originate in two aspects: (i) improved charge separation at the metal-semiconductor interface; and (ii) increased absorption of visible light due to the surface plasmon resonance of metals. So far, many M/S nanocomposite photocatalysts with different structures have been developed for the application in environmental remediation, selective organic transformation, hydrogen evolution, and disinfection. Herein, we will give a review on the M/S nanocomposite photocatalysts, regarding their fundamentals, structures (as well as their typical synthetic approaches), applications and properties. Finally, we will also present our perspective on the future development of M/S nanocomposite photocatalysts.

Role of Dimensionality for Photocatalytic Water Splitting: CdS Nanotube versus Bulk Structure

Using state-of-the-art density functional theoretical calculations, we have modelled a facetted CdS nanotube (NT) catalyst for photocatalytic water splitting. The overall photocatalytic activity of the CdS photocatalyst has been predicted based on the electronic structures, band edge alignment, and overpotential calculations. For comparisons, we have also investigated the water splitting process over bulk CdS. The band edge alignment along with the oxygen evolution reaction/hydrogen evolution reaction (OER/HER) mechanism studies help us find out the effective overpotential for the overall water splitting on these surfaces. Our study shows that the CdS NT has a highly stabilized valence band edge compared to that of bulk CdS owing to strong p-d mixing. The highly stabilized valence band edge is important for the hole-transfer process and reduces the risk of electron-hole recombination. CdS nanotube requires less overpotential for water oxidation reaction than the bulk CdS. Our findings suggest that the efficiency of the water oxidation/reduction process further improves in CdS as we reduce its dimensionality, that is going from bulk CdS to one-dimensional nanotube. Furthermore, the stabilized valence band edge of CdS nanotube also improves the photostability of CdS, which is a problem for bulk CdS.

One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of CdS decorated CuS microflower-like structures for enhanced photocatalytic properties

CdS decorated CuS structures have been controllably synthesized through a one-pot hydrothermal method. The morphologies and compositions of the as-prepared samples could be concurrently well controlled by simply tuning the amount of CdCl2 and thiourea. Using this strategy, the morphology of the products experienced from messy to flower-like morphologies with multiple porous densities, together with the phase evolution from pure CuS to the CdS/CuS composites. Serving as a photocatalyst, the samples synthesized with the addition of 1 mmol cadmium chloride and 3 mmol thiourea during synthetic process, showed the best photocatalytic activity, which could reach a maximum photocatalytic efficiency of 93% for methyl orange (MO) photodegradation after 150 min. The possible mechanism for the high photocatalytic efficiency of the sample was proposed by investigating the composition, surface area, structure, and morphology before and after photocatalytic reaction.

Irreversible phase transition in BiVO4 nanostructures synthesized by a polyol method and enhancement in photo degradation of methylene blue

Structure and bonding in metal oxides has been studied extensively using Raman vibrational spectroscopy and is found to provide complementary information to the crystallographic observations.

Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production of Flower-like Cadmium Sulfide Decorated by Histidine

Morphology-controlled synthesis of CdS can significantly enhance the efficiency of its photocatalytic hydrogen production. In this study, a novel three-dimensional (3D) flower-like CdS is synthesized via a facile template-free hydrothermal process using Cd(NO₃)₂•4H₂O and thiourea as precursors and L-Histidine as a chelating agent. The morphology, crystal phase, and photoelectrochemical performance of the flower-like CdS and pure CdS nanocrystals are carefully investigated via various characterizations. Superior photocatalytic activity relative to that of pure CdS is observed on the flower-like CdS photocatalyst under visible light irradiation, which is nearly 13 times of pure CdS. On the basis of the results from SEM studies and our analysis, a growth mechanism of flower-like CdS is proposed by capturing the shape evolution. The imidazole ring of L-Histidine captures the Cd ions from the solution, and prevents the growth of the CdS nanoparticles. Furthermore, the photocatalytic contrast experiments illustrate that the as-synthesized flower-like CdS with L-Histidine is more stable than CdS without L-Histidine in the hydrogen generation.

Photodegradation of Rhodamine B over a novel photocatalyst of feather keratin decorated CdS under visible light irradiation

Natural polymer feather keratin was employed as a composite material for enhancing the photocatalytic activity of CdS for the degradation of Rhodamine B dye.

Assembling CdS mesoporous nanosheets into 3D hierarchitectures for effective photocatalytic performance

3D hierarchical CdS mesoporous nanosheets are successfully synthesized via a simple hydrothermal approach. Due to their specific 3D hierarchical structures, they exhibit good photocatalytic activity for the degradation of MO.

Synthesis and optical characterization of single phased ZnS:Mn²⁺/CdS core-shell nanoparticles

Uncoated ZnS, ZnS:Mn(2+), CdS and different thickness of CdS coated ZnS:Mn(2+) core-shell nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by a simple chemical method in an air atmosphere. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques were used to characterize the uncoated and the novel ZnS:Mn(2+)/CdS core-shell nanoparticles. The results show that the size of the ZnS:Mn(2+)/CdS core-shell nanoparticles is less than the bare ZnS:Mn(2+). The PL study of ZnS:Mn(2+)/CdS core-shell nanoparticles shows an enhanced intensity than ZnS:Mn(2+). The coating of CdS layer over ZnS:Mn(2+) tuned the PL emission in the visible region. Addition of cadmium acetate (Cd 4 and 5M) in ZnS:Mn(2+) shows a distinct PL peak centered at 542 nm. The presence of Mn(2+) ions in ZnS lattice and the growth of the CdS on ZnS:Mn(2+) nanoparticles were confirmed by the ESR spectra.

One-dimensional CdS nanostructures: synthesis, properties, and applications

One-dimensional (1D) semiconductor nanostructures are of prime interest due to their potential in investigating the size and dimensionality dependence of the materials' physical properties and constructing nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices. Cadmium sulfide (CdS) is an important semiconductor compound of the II-VI group, and its synthesis and properties have been of growing interest owing to prominent applications in several fields. This article provides a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art research activities that focus on the rational synthesis, novel properties and unique applications of 1D CdS nanostructures in nanotechnology. It begins with the rational design and synthesis of 1D CdS nanostructures, and then highlights a range of unique properties and applications (e.g. photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence, electrochemiluminescence, photocatalysis, lasers, waveguides, modulators, solar cells, field-effect transistors, photodetectors, field-emitters, and nanogenerators) associated with them. Finally, the review is concluded with the author outlook of the perspectives with respect to future research on 1D CdS nanostructures.